smitten

Maybe it was Tech's win against UGA last weekend.

Or perhaps the music and subsequent gathering we had just left.

Maybe it was the quiet street and cool night air and that all felt right with the world.

Or maybe it was because it was 4 hours past bedtime and I was exhausted.

But at a little past two on Sunday morning in Athens, Georgia, I fell in love with a tree.

In a somewhat stressful meeting today, my mind wandered to this tree. Unlike his deciduous brothers, this tree on Clayton Street was frozen, fully green, in an everlasting summer. His branches reached up and out with purpose and the quiet grace I pray for. His lights twinkled softly in the breeze, calling quietly to the passerby to slow down, if only for a minute, and look up.

I'm glad I did.